Friday, December 26, 2014

How Much Stuff Is Enough?

Another Christmas is past. Which in part means the presentation and reception of gifts. This is a very joyous time, I am now filled with cheeses, new pants, and a bookcase! I probably have two hundred books and I would like to be able to access them without rooting through several piles. However, all this gift giving and receiving results in the accumulation of stuff.

Side A of my New Tapestry

Side B of my New Tapestry

Here is a perfect example. I won't go into the backstory on this, except to say it's not a gift, and it was from a deceased relative. It is high quality, has different patterns on either side, but what am I going to do with it? The suggestion was to use on a table as a centerpiece… except I don't even own a normal table, just a coffee table.

Don't get me wrong, I accumulate more than I need and have some trouble getting rid of stuff sometimes. Although the older I get the easier it is to throw stuff away. So lest anyone think I am pointing a finger at another person, I am writing this to help me organize my own things better. So where does it end? How much is enough? I don't know, and it is different for every person. If we don't ask the question, then I feel we commit ourselves to a cycle of accumulation, and that is not the point of life, nor is it entirely healthy to form the relationships we do with inanimate objects.

I feel life is about relationships, in large part, relationships with other humans, and it is important to me to not let material things cloud that ideal, only contribute to it.

These are the endeavors I pursue. These are the experiences I have. Leave here better than you came.

Disclaimer: All views expressed on this website are my own. I am not speaking on behalf of any company or other person. Sometimes I am sarcastic or exaggerate, and those comments should not be taken as the truth. Sometimes I express frustration with a situation, which is my way of recognizing and thus improving the areas of my life where I fail, not to defame, covet, or speak poorly of any other person.